Cotton-seed linter.



SESSIONS. COTTON SEED UNTER.

APPLICATION FILED 13120.12, 1908.

Patented June 28, 1910.

widmen@ f CMM Wifi@ HUGH E. SESSIONS, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA.

COTTON-sean murali.`

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 2S, 1910,

Application le. Decemberl 12, 1908. Serial No. 467,217.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH E. S'nssioNs, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Columbia, in the county ot Richland andv State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in .Cotton-Seed Linters, o t which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for removing from cotton seed the lint which ad-y heres to them after most of the lint has been removed by being passed through the ordinary cotton gin. Its objects are to simplify and improve the construction and to secure an operation whichv will more efficiently separate the lint vfrom metes and other trash, and thereby produce commercial lint` of a much higher grade or quality than has been done with machines in common use.

The novel features and advantages-of the invention 'will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the' accompan ing drawing.

In the rawing I have shown a section of a delinting machine embodying my v'mvention.

The means for removing the lint froinithe seed is embodied in a casing 1 having the upright corner posts 2 and. 8 and the cross pieces Il, 5 and 6. In this casing a saw cylinder 7 is mounted embodying a gang ot saws passing between the saw ribsS as will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art. A brush cylinder 9 is mounted by the side of the saw cylinder having brush points engaging the teeth ofthe saw and adapted to rotate' at a higher rate of speed than the saw cylinder. rIhe two cylinders rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows, and because of the higher rate of speed1 of the brush cylinder the cotton is brushed from lthe teeth of the saws down toward the licor or platform on which the casing 1 is mounted. Preferably the ends of the brush should just touch the points of the saw teeth, the lint being-drawn from the saws principally by the draft created by the brush. The cotton seeds are fed to the apparatus through the cpeningllO in anysuitable way, and the amount fed to the saws is regulated by the feed mechanism 27. The lioat 11 agitates.

the seed assists in properly presenting t lsaws. It wil be understood that. .is carried by the saw teeth between the ribs s man a reaches the brush and um the seed pass down the ribs and out through the opening 12.-Y

A flue 13 leads upwardly from the lower edge of the brush cylinder 9 and discharges the lint upon a cylinder 1a covered with wire cloth which revolves in the direction indicated by the arrow. The lint is 'deposited on the cylinder 121 in the form of a layer which passes beneath-the roller 15 and which is wound upon the roller 16. It will be understood that the draft which carries the lint up through the liuc 13 .is created by the.

brush cylinder 9 which rotates at high speed immediately above the ent-rance of that flue. There is nothing essentially novel in the features of the apparatus so tar described, r

the main fea-tures of my invention /residing inthe means which I use `for regulating and controlling the passage of the lint up to and through the `flue 13 and for securing an ethcient separation of trash from the lint be-y fore it passesinto that flue. In its preferred form my invention resides in the mote board 17 constructed and arranged as shown.

In devices of this class mote boards haveheretofore been used but thoseboards have been rather complicated made 'up of separable sections and have been made to pass in close proximity to the bottom of the brush cylinder. They have usually been made to extend considerably beyond the.center line of the brush cylinder, so as to secure in effeet an inlet opening for the flue immedi'ately adj acent the point where the lint is brushed from the saw cylinder. In 'the ordinary construction, the mote board has been placed-about one andlone-half to two inches fromlthe'brush cylinder, and the lint which is brushed downwardly from the .saws 1 has been drawn by the strong suction directly on to the top of the mote boardand has been thus carried outl through the lint iiue to the perforated drum. Some of the heavier particles ot trash and some ot the motes would 'in this construction not be drawn in above the mote board, but would pass down tothe lo'or, Ibut some of the motes and a great many particles of' trash, including some small seed that pass through the ribs would B be drawn in and carried oi with the lint, thus producing a product of very low grade. The workers in this Vart have recognized the defect in the operation of' devices having mote boards arranged as above described,

' of the machine with the heavy particles of trash, and that consequently most of the lint would be wasted.

By my experiments l have discovered that a shorter mote board may be used than has been thought possible, and that the best results are secured when it is arranged in such position and at such an angle as to leave a wide space between it and the brush cylinder. A,I find that good results are secured by a mote board placed at an angle of about 45, thev shortest distance between it and the brush cylinder being about nine inches, instead of about one and one-half to two inches, as heretofore. This board, furthermore, preferably does not extend beyond the ycentral line of the brush cylinder, but terminates upon the side of that cylinder opposite to the saw cylinder. l iind that by this construction and arrangement the lint is brushed downward from the saws passing first, ldirectly toward the floor, malring a curve toward the mote board, and then rising up between that board and the brush cylinder 9. rl`he motes and trash including small or faulty seed that sometimes pass through the vribs traveling with the lint but being heavier than the lint, I find will not rise and pass up over the mote board, but will pass on to the floor of the apparatus, thus effecting' a complete and efficient separation of the lint and trash. I believe this ethcient operation of my construction is due to the wide opening between the brush cylinder and mote board, and to the considerable distance between the end of the mote board and the vertical line on which the lint and trash would naturally fall to the door. The brush cylinder creates a sufcient draft in the side opening to draw the lint up into the flue 13, but not sufficient to draw the heavier particles of trash.

I make my mote board 17 adjustable by means of the slotted arm 18 and screw 19, although I find little adjustment necessary after putting the board in place. l prefer to malte the lower end of the mote board in the form of a downwardly odset section 20, since I find that this downward offset to the end of the mote board improves its operation, but this odset is not necessary to secure the beneficial effects of my invention, since a straight board may be used. 'l unable to say why this arrangement of the end section 20 should increase the efficiency of the device, but l have found that in prac tice it does so, and it may be due to the fact inches in diameter, the shaft 21 of that that the end of the mote board placed at a cylinder 9.

rlhe current of air which enters the chamber formed by the casing l below the mote board 17 is first directed in along the door toward'the point where the material is falling from the brush cylinder, and it then rises and passes out through the *due i3. The draft is just strong enough to overcome the tendency of the tine particles of lint to proceed on their way to thel door of the chamber, or in other words, the upward current to which the fallin lint is subjected has a velocity only slight y greater than the velocity at which the lint would liormally fall.- lt follows from this that the lint is gradually arrested in its descent when it strikes the upwardly moving air current, and it then floats laterally and upwardly out through the flue 13. rllhe motes and trash being heavier than the fine particles of lint naturally fall at a greater velocity through the air, and in the operation of my device arranged as described their velocity is greater than the velocity of the upwardly moving air. The result is that he nietes continue on theircourse to the floor, and the lint 'free from trash and metes tloats off separately. The wide space left between the brush cylinder and mote board in particular embodiment which l have shown is what causes the gentle draft as described, since the suction is due to the rotation of the brush cylinder. rlhe cylinder of course ro tates very rapidly in order to brush the lint from the saws and would create a strong U is thereby greater distance from 'the brush draft if the mote board lwere close to it.

Lowering the mote board at an angle as shown not only leaves a wide space creating a gentle draft, but makes the air pass from the4 space occupied by the falling lint 11pwardly at an angle, thus drawing the lint upwardly as distinguished from sucking it laterally directly across its lineof fall. ln other words, the draft lifts the lint and car-j ries it upward above the mote board instead of merely dellecting it laterally. The wide throat or entrance above the lower ed e of the mote board allows the lint to be su jected to the gentle draft throughout a sufiicient portion'of its fall to gradually arrest its descent and carry it away. As shown in the drawing the casing is substantially closed up to the peripheral line of the saw cylinder Aso as to' prevent side drafts affecting .the very light falling lint, and in the construction shown the necessary air is admitted below the lower edge 2G of the mote board. A

ln order to give an accurate it proportions of the parts l will say have embodied the invention in an machine having brush cylinder 9 lio eeavaa understood that I do not confine myself to these exact measurements and proportions,

but they are given as one illustration which will make it easy for those skilled 1n tliejv art to make and use ithe device carrying out the principle of my invention. i

A division plate 24 is ordinarily used in devices of this kind secured indirectly to the top beam 5 and extending from above in between the saw cylinder and the brush cyl'- inder. I have added to this division plate..v an additional division plate 25 provided with vertical slots through which pass screws 26. This plate is thereire vertically adjustable and may be made to approach at its lowei end the edge of the brush cylinder and I ind that its sists material y in the operation of the device when vthe mote board is arranged in accordance with4 my invention. This increase'in the eiiiciency seems to be due to the fact that this division board has the effect of regulating the amount of draft down between the brush cylinder and the saw cylinder, and therefore regulates to a certain extent the force with which the lint is driven downward when it is brushed from the saws. I find that good results are secured when the lower edge of the boardis about one-sixteenth of an inch from the .bristles on the brush. v

It will be understood that I do not wish to confine myself to. the specific structure of Ithe device shown, but claim the broad features of construction having the novel operation above'indicated.

Hav-ing thus Adescribed the invention, what is claimed is: y,

-l. In a device of the class described, the combination with a saw cylinder, of a brush cylinder adapted to brush the lint downwa. dly from said saw cylinder, and a mote 'board beneath said brush upon the side opl' pisite the saw the said mote board being inclined. downwardly at an angle of about forty-five degreesand its lower end being offset downwardly terminating approximately beiicath the center line of the brush cylinder, and being widely separated therefrom.

" 2. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a saw cylinder, of a brush' cylinder adapted to discharge lint downwardly, a mote board widely separated there- 1presence in the apparatus as-v ends of the from arranged at an angle of about fortyiive degrees, and a casing forming an unobstructed chamber to receive the downwardly directed lint-so constructed as to admit air below said mote board but prevent side drafts up to the. peripheral line of said saw cylinder.

3. Ina device of the class described, the combination with a saw cylinder, of a brush cylinder, a mote board widely separated therefrom arranged at an angle vvof about forty-'five degrees and having a downwardly odset end portion.

fh' In a`device of the/'class described, the ',-combination with a saw cylinder, of a brush cylinder mounted by the side of, said saw cylinder and adapted to brush the lint downwardly from said saw cylinder, an adjustable division board extending downwardly between said cylinders from above, and a mote board extending downwardly beneath the brush cylinder, but widely separated therefrom upon the side opposite the saw cylinder.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a saw cylinder, of a brush cylinder, mounted by the side thereof with the ends of its bristles just touching the ends of the saw teeth, and an adjustable division board over the brush cylinder on the side next to the saw whereby said board may be made to approach the ends of the bristles therein, a brush cylinder adapted to discharge the lint downwardly froxnsaid saw cylinder, the said casing forming an unobstructed chamber to receive .said downwardly directed lint and adapted to prevent side drafts up to the peripheral line of said saw cylinder, a iiue for the lint leading from said casing on the side next'to said brush' cylinder, a mote board extending down-1 lwardly beneath said brush and beingso re-` lated thereto that the normal rotation of said brush will create a gentle draft said flue, the parts beingso arranged and proportioned that" a large openspace is left in advance of said mote board to receive the downwardly"discharged lint.

7 In a cotton seed linter, the combination ioo" with a casing'formingva substantially closed chamber, of a saw cylindertherein, a brush cylinder adapted to discharge lint downwardly from said saw cylinder, a flue for the i lint leadin from said casing on the side' .next to said brush cylinder-,and a lmote board `widely separated from said brush cylinder extendingedownwardly at van v angle from said flue to a point near the floor of- 'thecasing beneath the brush cylinder leavthe edge l with a easing forming a substantially closed chamber, of a sir-'Av cylinder therein, a brush eylinei adapte to discharge lint down- Wedly 111.10m said saw cylinder, a flue foi' the lint lee'elin said casing on the side next to brush. cylinder, and a substantially Stzeglit mote beard extendingl down- Waidly at an angle of about forty-tive de- 9eme@ grees" from Said ue to a point near the oo'r of the casing beneath the brush cylinder, the board being Widely separated from said cylinder, and Ineens for admitting air beneath said mote board.

ln testimony whereof l affix my signature Y in presence of two Witnesses.

` HUGH E. SESSIGNS.

Viitnesses B. C. RUST, A.. E. HAUSMANN., 

